The present disclosure relates to controllers, and more particularly to embedded controllers with modular architectures such as in critical safety equipment.
Controllers are commonly used on vehicles, such as aircraft, to control the functionality of devices carried by the vehicles. Such controllers generally include electronics located within a housing which communicate with the controlled device to operate the device. In the case of embedded controllers, such as embedded controllers commonly used to control safety critical equipment, the controller is typically a ‘point design’ developed for a specific application. Such point design controllers allow the controller to provide the functionality required for the application while accommodating the various constraints of the application, e.g., shape and dimensions as well the connectivity requirements of the application.
One consequence of the point design approach to embedded controllers is that control systems for different devices lack a common architecture due to the customized layout and components required for the various controllers, complicating maintenance. Further, such controllers can also add to the challenges of re-design and obsolescence management because, when multiple application-specific embedded controllers utilize a common component, and the common component becomes obsolete, each controller must be individually redesigned to incorporate the replacement component and the controller requalified with the replacement component.
Such conventional point design controllers have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there is a need in the art for improved embedded controllers. The present disclosure provides a solution for this need.